Arbuckle Watermelon Festival
The Arbuckle Watermelon Festival is a hometown summer celebration in Arbuckle, CA, out in Colusa County, held in mid-July at Lavanche Hursh Park. When our booth is on the calendar for it, we pop fresh kettle corn on-site and shake cold lemonade to go with the heat. Check our Find Us calendar for the confirmed date.
✓ Confirmed — we'll be there
- Sat, Jul 18, 2026
Dates can shift with weather — the live calendar always has the latest.
About the Arbuckle Watermelon Festival
Arbuckle is a small farming town along Interstate 5 in Colusa County, and the Watermelon Festival is its hometown summer party. Recent editions have run at Lavanche Hursh Park on 5th Street, with local vendors, a barbeque lunch, a kids' carnival, and family activities. It's a walk-the-booths, meet-your-neighbors kind of day, the kind of Central Valley summer event a kettle was built for.
In 2026 the festival weekend lined up with a bigger milestone: Arbuckle marked its 150th anniversary with a community parade, vendor fair, kids' carnival, contests, live entertainment, and a street dance, put on by the Arbuckle Revitalization Committee (Colusa County Pioneer Review). Different name, same hometown spirit.
Where to find our booth
Look for our tent. We pop our classic kettle corn fresh on-site, big round mushroom kernels, real cane sugar, oil, and salt, stirred by hand in the kettle. Classic and caramel are always on, with a few of the specialty flavors along for the ride.
Mid-July in the Valley runs hot, so the cold half of the booth earns its keep: fresh-squeezed Lemon Shakers, shaken to order, plus iced tea and Arnold Palmers.
Our classic kettle corn is naturally gluten-free (corn, cane sugar, oil, salt). Flavored batches each have their own additional ingredients, so ask at the booth about a specific flavor. Our booths are nut-free, though we're not a certified nut-free facility.
Coming from the Yuba-Sutter side
We're based over in the Yuba-Sutter area (Yuba City and Marysville) and work fairs, festivals, and markets across Northern California, so a run out to Arbuckle is a familiar one for us. If you follow the booth, this is one of our Colusa County summer stops. The Find Us calendar has every confirmed date and is the only place we post where the booths will be.
Quick answers
Where is the Arbuckle Watermelon Festival?
In Arbuckle, CA, in Colusa County, along Interstate 5. Recent festivals have been held at Lavanche Hursh Park on 5th Street.
When is it?
It's a mid-July summer event. Dates move year to year, so check the organizer for the festival's own schedule, and our Find Us calendar for any confirmed booth date.
Will Baker's Kettle Corn be there?
Only when it's on our Find Us calendar — that's the one place we confirm where the booths will be. If we're booked, we'll be popping fresh kettle corn and shaking cold lemonade.
Is your kettle corn gluten-free?
The classic is, just corn, cane sugar, oil, and salt. Flavored batches each have their own additional ingredients, so ask at the booth.
Keep exploring: Every flavor we pop · Fresh-squeezed Lemon Shakers · Full booth calendar